Operation Sea lion
Operation Sea Lion (German: Unternehmen Seelöwe) was Nazi Germany's plan to invade the United Kingdom during the Second World War, following the Fall of France. For any likelihood of success, however, the operation required both air and naval supremacy over the English Channel, neither of which the Germans ever achieved during or after the Battle of Britain. Many historians and senior German military figures have concluded that Adolf Hitler never actually intended to invade England. Sea Lion was postponed indefinitely on 17 September 1940, until the defeat of Russia had been achieved, but due to Russia's victory over Germany, the operation was never carried out. History Adolf Hitler had decided by early November 1939 on forcing an end to the war by invading France. In order to avoid the heavily-defended Maginot Line the Germans had to invade Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg in order to invade France. With the prospect of the Channel ports falling under Kriegsmarine (the German Navy) control, and attempting to anticipate the obvious next step that might entail, Grand Admiral (Großadmiral) Erich Raeder (head of the Kriegsmarine) instructed his operations officer, Kapitän Hans Jürgen Reinicke, to draw up a document examining "the possibility of troop landings in England should the future progress of the war make the problem arise." Reinicke spent five days on this study and set forth the following prerequisites Design Beginning in August 1940, the German Luftwaffe began a series of concentrated aerial attacks (designated Unternehmen Adlerangriff or Operation Eagle Attack) on targets throughout the United Kingdom in an attempt to destroy the RAF and establish air superiority over Great Britain. The campaign later became known as the Battle of Britain. The change in emphasis of the bombing from RAF bases to bombing London, however, turned Adler into a strategic bombing operation. The effect of the switch in strategy is disputed. Some historians argue that the change in strategy lost the Luftwaffe the opportunity of winning the air battle, or air superiority.14 Others argue the Luftwaffe achieved little in the air battle and the RAF was not on the verge of collapse, as often claimed. Another perspective has also been put forward, which suggests the Germans could not have gained air superiority before the weather window closed. Others have pointed out that it was unlikely the Luftwaffe was ever able to destroy RAF Fighter Command. If British losses became severe, the RAF could simply have withdrawn northward and regrouped. It could then deploy when, or if, the Germans launched an invasion. Most historians argue Sea Lion would have failed regardless, because of the weaknesses of German sea power compared to the Royal Navy. The view of those that believed, regardless of a potential German victory in the air battle, Sea Lion was still not going to succeed included a number of German General Staff members. Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz believed air superiority was "not enough". Dönitz stated, "we possessed neither control of the air or the sea; nor were we in any position to gain it". Erich Raeder, commander-in-chief of the Kriegsmarine in 1940 argued: .....the emphatic reminder that up until now the British had never thrown the full power of their fleet into action. However, a German invasion of England would be a matter of life and death for the British, and they would unhesitatingly commit their naval forces, to the last ship and the last man, into an all-out fight for survival. Our Air Force could not be counted on to guard our transports from the British Fleets, because their operations would depend on the weather, if for no other reason. It could not be expected that even for a brief period our Air Force could make up for our lack of naval supremacy. When Franz Halder, the Chief of the Army General Staff, heard of the state of the Kriegsmarine, and its plan for the invasion, he noted in his diary, on 28 July 1940, "If that plan is true, all previous statements by the navy were so much rubbish and we can throw away the whole plan of invasion". Alfred Jodl, Chief of Operations in the OKW (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht), remarked, after Raeder said the Kriegsmarine could not meet the operational requirements of the Army, "then a landing in England must be regarded as a sheer act of desperation". Failed to completed The most daunting problem for Germany in protecting an invasion fleet was the small size of its navy. The Kriegsmarine, already numerically far inferior to Britain's Royal Navy, had lost a sizeable portion of its large modern surface units in April 1940 during the Norwegian Campaign, either as complete losses or due to battle damage. In particular, the loss of two light cruisers and ten destroyers was crippling, as these were the very warships most suited to operating in the Channel narrows where the invasion would likely take place. Most U-boats, the most powerful arm of the Kriegsmarine, were meant for destroying ships, not supporting an invasion. Officer's Involved specific officer's, generals, and others involved in the planning of the operation, and those who carried it out. Goals *Elimination or sealing off of Royal Navy forces from the landing and approach areas. *Elimination of the Royal Air Force (RAF). *Destruction of all Royal Navy units in the coastal zone. *Prevention of British submarine action against the landing fleet. Gallery Category:World War II operations and battles of Europe